Good-Soil Christian

2 Peter 1:10; Luke 8:4–15
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, March 14, 2021
Copyright © 2021, P. G. Mathew
Language [Japanese]

The parable of the four soils is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. And the heart of the parable is summarized in 2 Peter 1:10: “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall.” How do we do “these things”? By our present obedience to the Lord Jesus.

How do we do it? In Hebrews 5:8–9 we read, “Although he was [eternal Son] , he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” The question is, do you obey Jesus? Then you are regenerate and you are elect. If you do not obey the Master you confessed freely when you said, “Jesus Lord,” you are not saved.

A parable reveals to God’s elect the gospel. Yet at the same time, it conceals the gospel to the non-elect. In Matthew 13:11 Jesus said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” Many are unregenerate, non-elect; only a few are regenerate. And in Matthew 11:25–27 we read, “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. . . . No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’”And even in the same family, all people can be non-elect, or some are elect.

The sower by the Holy Spirit preaches the gospel. In other words, a called, sent, and anointed pastor will preach the gospel (Rom. 10:15). He is God’s gift to the church, as we read in Ephesians 4:11: “It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” A true pastor is pious and learned. He is sent by God. He never begs for money. He is filled with the Holy Spirit who appointed him, as we read in Acts 20:28. Paul says, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” In the Greek, it is “appointed you.” Paul continues, “Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood,” which is the highest price. No one can buy salvation. It is a gift of grace to the elect.

A true pastor is committed to the authority of Scripture. In 2 Timothy 3:16–17 we read, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” A true pastor knows God’s word and interprets it correctly.

A true pastor knows that all four soils are in the church. Three soils represent non-elect people. They are unfruitful because they are unregenerate. They focus on sinning all the time. It is true that they can be baptized, having made a credible confession. Yet they are unregenerate and so unrepenting and lacking the obedience of faith. In due time, they will leave Christ’s holy church to sin, as John tells us: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:19). Such people will eventually join a synagogue of Satan and speak evil of Christ’s holy churches where God’s word is preached.

Jesus himself warned us about such people in Matthew 5:11–12:  “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The Lord himself spoke to Isaiah about the first three soils in Isaiah 6:9–10: “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be [saved].’”

1. Pathway Soil

In Acts 24:25 we read about pathway-soil people: “As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you’” (Acts 24:25). Most politicians are, in my view, pathway-soil people, like Felix.

Pathway-soil people are in the church, but they are non-elect. They are unregenerate. Their father is the devil. Jesus told some religious people of his day, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of [all] lies” (John 8:44).

Such people come to church for other reasons than to worship God. They are like Simon Magus, who Peter told, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” Buying wholesale and selling at retail to make a profit. “‘You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God’” (Acts 8:20-21).

Such people do not understand the gospel. They have other purposes for coming to the church. They do not care about the gospel. They care about this world only. They want to retire well, like the rich man of Luke 16. And they are unfruitful.

2. Rocky Soil

Rocky-soil people are also in the church. They also are non-elect, unregenerate, and unfruitful.  They also obey their father, the devil. In Romans 6:16 Paul writes, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

In 1 John 5:19 John tells us, “We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one,” that is, the devil. And Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). This is also speaking about the devil. Adam and Eve spat on the face of God, who spoke truth, and they obeyed the devil (Gen. 3).

Such people are emotional, antinomian, and allergic to suffering for Christ. In due time, they also will leave the church and go out speak evil of the pastor who preaches the gospel. Such people are eternally damned.

3. Thorny Soil

Thorny-soil people are also in the church, and they also are non-elect and unregenerate. Their focus is in this life. They may have a big house. They worship money. Of them we read in Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” The answer is nothing!

Thorny-soil people live lust-filled lives. John warned about such a life: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the [lust of the flesh], the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15–17). They are like Demas, about whom Paul writes, “Demas, because he loved this world, has [left] me and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Tim. 4:10). Demas abandoned Paul and went to Thessalonica to make more money. They are like Judas, who threw away all the money he got for betraying Jesus; then he went and hanged himself. Both Judas and Demas left the church.

Jesus warns those who worship money: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matt. 6:24). Thorny-soil people are fake Christians. They preach health, wealth, power, and fame in the name of Jesus. Paul writes about such people in 2 Corinthians 11:13–15: “Such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, [pretending to be] apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself [pretends to be] an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants [pretend to be] servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

4. Good-Soil Christians

After explaining people represented by the first three soils, in Luke 8:15, Jesus describes the fourth-soil people, the good-soil Christians: “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

1.  Good-Soil Christians Are the Elect.

In Ephesians 1:4 Paul says, “For [God] chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” And in 2 Peter 1:10 Peter writes, “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall.” And in 1 Corinthians 1:27–30 we read, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” Christ himself is our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption.

In Romans 8:28–30 Paul writes, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew [foreloved] he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” And in Luke 10:20 Jesus told his disciples, “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven,” before the creation of the world.

2. Good-Soil Christians Are Regenerate.

In Acts 16:14 we read, “One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message” to repent and believe. And in Ephesians 2:3–5 Paul writes, “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires [lusts] and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive [regeneration] with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Good-soil Christians have been regenerated. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” And in John 3:3, 5, Jesus told Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. . . . I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”

In Ezekiel 36:25–27 we read of God’s work of regeneration: “I will sprinkle clean water on you” – that is the preaching of the word. “and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your [iniquities] and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove [your heart of rebellion, a stony heart] from you and [I will] give you a heart of flesh [a heart of obedience, responsiveness]. And I will put my [Holy] Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” By the Holy Spirit we can kill sin and obey God. If we are not regenerate, we cannot do anything to please God.

3. Good-Soil Christians Are Persecuted.

Jesus spoke of this to his disciples. In Matthew 5:10–12 he said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

4. Good-Soil Christians Will Persevere.

In Romans 5:3–5 Paul writes, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance [endurance]; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

5. Good-Soil Christians are TULIP Christians.

TULIP stands for total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.

6. Good-Soil Christians Are Fruitful.

Good-soil Christians bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul declares, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Good-soil Christians bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit, as we read in John 15. There we also read that fruitless Christians are like fruitless branches: they are cut off, thrown out, dried up, gathered, and thrown into the fire and burned. It is speaking about hell.

In Hebrews 5:8–9 we read, “Although he was [eternal] Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” They live by repentance the obedience of faith. And in Galatians 5:22–23 Paul tells us what this fruit is: “The fruit of the Spirit is [sacrificial] love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

In Acts 2 and 4, we read that the early Christians sold their property, brought the money, and placed it at the apostles’ feet because there were poor people in the church. (PGM) And in Matthew 25:31–46 we read about the last judgment, which is based on whether we took care of the Lord’s brothers and sisters or not. So in this church, we added a fourth mark of the church: fellowship. We talk to people and find what their problems are, and then we help them.

7. Good-Soil Christians Have Great Faith.

Good-soil Christians are like the Syro-Phoenician woman whose daughter was demon-possessed (Matt. 15:24–28). She came to Jesus for help, but he said, “I am not sent to dogs.” She said, “Yes, I am a dog. But dogs eat from what falls from the master’s table.” And he said, “You have great faith! Go, your daughter is healed.” See the logic: Yes, I am a dog, but I am your dog, and dogs must eat.

8. Good-Soil Christians Are Like the Publican.

Good-soil Christians are like the publican whom we read about in Luke 18. He prayed, “Have mercy on me, a sinner!” And the Bible says he went home justified forever.

9. Good-Soil Christians Are Not Like the Rich Young Ruler.

The rich young ruler had a lot of money and a lot of power. But he was unhappy. He came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus told him, “Go, sell all you have, give it to the poor, and then come and follow me.”  The young man went away sad.

10. Good-Soil People Hear and Do God’s Will.

The elect and regenerate people have a hole in their earlobe, signifying that they hear and do the will of God. In Exodus 21:5–6 we read, “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.” And in Psalm 40:6, speaking about Jesus, we read, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.”

Jesus committed no sin, and he heard and did what his Father told him. He prayed, “If possible, remove this cup from me—the cross death.” The Father said, “It is not possible.” So he went. They spat on him, slapped him, put a crown of thorns on his head, and beat him. And he was crucified. “He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” We are saved because Christ took our sins and died for us.

In Matthew 7:24 we read, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock,” that means, on Christ. Such people say, “I love my master Jesus. I hear and do my master’s will immediately, exactly, and with great joy. This is my happiness.”

In Psalm 119:32 we read, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” And Jesus said, “The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what the Father has commanded me” (John 14:31).

11. Good-Soil Christians Count the Cost.

Good-soil Christians have counted the cost of discipleship. So we read, “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:25–27). Good soil Christians have counted the cost of discipleship.

Peter was crucified, Paul was beheaded, and Stephen was stoned to death. Even today, many around the world are being killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.

May God help us to be good-soil Christians, hearing and doing the will of the Lord Jesus immediately, exactly, and with great joy by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. In Isaiah 64:5 we read, “You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.”

12. Good-Soil Christians Have a Personal Covenant with Christ.

The final point is found in Romans 10:9. This is very important. Paul Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” In other words, you are saying, “I am the Lord’s slave. I have a hole in my earlobe. I will hear and do the will of my Master because I love my Master.”

In Philippians 2:12–13 Paul exhorts, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

Conclusion

The greatest assurance we can have is found in Romans 8:16: “The [Holy] Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that there is no greater assurance than this. This is the highest assurance we can have—the testimony of the Holy Spirit to our regenerated spirits that we are saved, we are saved forever. We have eternal security.

We are going to die, unless God comes. And our bodies become weak and sick and die. But God is with us. He will never abandon us. In Psalm 48:14 we read, “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.”

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall” (2 Pet. 1:10).

If you are convicted by the Holy Spirit, repent and believe in Jesus. He will save you and make you good-soil Christians. In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the first question is, “What is the chief purpose of human existence?” It is to glorify God, to obey God, and enjoy him forever. May God help us to do so today. Amen.